Radiology departments and imaging centers perform imaging acquisitions of patients every day via computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), ultrasound (US), and/or other medical imaging modalities. Generally, an imaging order prescribed by a physician for a patient is received by the department or center. The order will typically contain some level of patient history that is then used by a radiologist to create an examination plan that includes one or more image acquisitions to be performed by one or more imaging modalities. The patient is then imaged by a radiology technologist according to the examination plan.
In some instances, additional findings are observed while the images are being acquired. In some of those cases, a radiologist may then select one or more additional imaging acquisitions to add to the examination plan. For example, in an MRI examination, a T2-weighted fast spin-echo sequence may reveal significant edema of the brain that is suspected to be due to cerebrospinal fluid. A technologist may consult with a radiologist who may then elect to add an additional type of sequence, e.g. a T2-weighted fluid attenuated inversion recovery sequence that would suppress the brightness of the cerebrospinal fluid in the image, which may aid in viewing of other structures.
The decision to include an additional image acquisition is typically made during implementation of the examination plan, for example, while scanning a patient. As such, there generally is a need to make quick decisions about adding an image acquisition. Furthermore, the selection of an additional image acquisition is typically based on the radiologist's expertise and impression of the patient's clinical circumstances, and is taken from a list of possible options for image acquisitions. Unfortunately, this can be a tedious and time consuming task, and the list of possible image acquisitions may be voluminous and include image acquisition that are not relevant to the patient's current health state.